SHREE SHYAM STEEL Vs. JHARKHAND ELECTRICITY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CHALLENGE in this writ application is to the inspection report dated 6-2-2009, the provisional assessment order dated 7-2-2009 and the corresponding bill issued by the respondents Nos. 4 and 5 respectively, whereby the respondents have proceeded against the petitioner under the provisions of Section 126 of the Electricity act, 2003 and have raised a demand for payment of the amount assessed as loss caused to the Board by the petitioner by his alleged acts of unauthorized use of electricity. In addition to the prayer for quashing the aforesaid report and the provisional bill, the petitioner has also prayed for a direction to the respondents to forthwith restore the electrical connection to the petitioner's premises, without imposing any condition upon the petitioner for payment of the demanded amount. By way of an amendment to the writ petition, the petitioner has sought to introduce a further prayer for quashing the circular No. 531 dated 29-1-2009 issued by the respondent No. 1 through its Secretary, whereby the concerned officers of the respondent Board have been directed to adopt a specific formula for assessment of the loss caused to the respondent Board in cases of unauthorized use of electricity.

(2.) THE petitioner being a steel manufacturing unit is a consumer of electricity under the respondent Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) and has been obtaining electric supply on contract demand of 334 KVA on 11 KV electric connection. The charge for electric connection is assessed on the basis of readings in the meter installed for the purpose within the premises of the petitioner's establishment. On 6-2-2009, a team of officers of the jseb visited the petitioner's premises and carried out an inspection in which it was allegedly detected that two numbers of poly carbonate seals associated with the meter box were duplicate. On removal of the seals and conducting examination of the meter, it was detected that all the seals associated with the meter i. e. the Meter Body optical port, meter outer terminal, were also duplicate. Furthermore, two numbers of holographic paper seals of the manufacturer namely the Secure Meter Ltd. were also found completely tampered. It was also found that a foreign device (chip) was transplanted inside the meter and the internal circuit of the meter was arranged in such a manner as to facilitate controlling of the reading/recording in the meter through remote operation. The entire inspection as carried out was videographed. An inspection report was prepared by the inspecting team. On the basis of the materials and the evidence collected during inspection, the inspecting team arrived at the conclusion that by deliberate and dishonest means and by tampering in the meter system, the consumer has been making unauthorized use of electricity and by such act of theft, has caused loss to the Electricity Board. The electric supply was promptly disconnected and an FIR was lodged under Section 135 of the Electricity Act mentioning the amount of loss caused to the Board. A provisional assessment of the loss on having been made, the provisional bill was raised and served upon the petitioner demanding payment of the assessed amount of Rs. 94,16,230/- within the statutory period as required under Section 126 (4) of the electricity Act, 2003 and in the alterative, to file its objection against the provisional bill.

(3.) THROUGH IA petition, the petitioner has informed that during the pendency of the writ petition, the final assessment has been made by the respondents and communicated to the petitioner by memo No. 427 dated 14-3-2009 annexing a bill dated 16-3-2009, and by way of final assessment, demanding payment of the same amount as earlier stated in the provisional bill, from the petitioner. The petitioner has also challenged the aforesaid final assessment order and the corresponding bill dated 16-3-2009.